


Pave the Way

by merciless_mercy



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: I have nothing planned, Mental Health Issues, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert, Stream of Consciousness, This is going to be really long, day by day, glasses reader, reader has asthma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-16 17:43:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5834845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merciless_mercy/pseuds/merciless_mercy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world discovered the existence of Monsters, and in the process lost their humanity.</p><p>This is your story as you fight for monster rights.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hell is empty

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is the first fic I'm going to be writing.  
> If anyone has some constructive criticism for me I would appreciate it.
> 
> Also, as someone whose forté is not writing- (actually writing is my worst art form honestly), the update schedule will be a bit sporadic. I'm going to try my best to update once a month.

It hadn’t even been a month. Not even a month since the Monsters came up from the mountain- and already people were flipping their shit. Your social media feeds being taken over by hate.

“They’re MONSTERS-?!

They’re by definition our enemies-

Do you want monsters to EAT your children??!!??

Remember what they ARE!”

Once again a social issue helped you determine who your real friends were.

You tried on all your social media to point out that they were judging these people by what they looked like, rather than the quality of their character. Encouraging them, telling them to wait and give them a chance. To which they responded with stereotypes and insults of being a "Monster Lover" which you brushed off.

Then came more insults that grew in ferocity,

then people telling you to kill yourself,

Then came death threats….

It’s horrible what people do with the power of anonymity, there were waves of negative thoughts coming your way, with the odd encouraging message from your friends.

You stopped checking your media.

 

But once your opinion was on the internet, you couldn't take it back. Eventually your internet voice started affecting your quality of life.

 Multiple teachers dropped you from their classes until none were left. You asked a friend to sell your books for you.

Your job told you that you were fired, hastily handing you your last paycheck as they kicked you out.

Your landlord returned your last month’s rent and informed you that you were being evicted. You couldn’t blame them though- You and your house had experienced vandalism as a result of your now well-known affiliation.

You couldn’t wrap your head around it, it was so stupid! But that’s what you got for living in a conservative southern state.

 

At least you still had your car. You packed what hadn’t been trashed from your personal belongings, and took the money you were going to pay your rent with, you were going to have to move. A few of your friends offered you their couch but you didn’t want them to be targeted. So you decided to move to the indirect cause of your misfortune.

You were moving to the town that housed Mt Ebott, that housed the monster movement.

You were going to find out first hand the 'ferocity' of these monsters.


	2. Opps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm just not so sure how well this plan was thought through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA  
> Update once a month my ASS  
> I'm really trying I swear, writing is just an even weaker subject of mine then I remember it being. If you see anything that I need to fix please tell me so I can do that ;u;

It'd been about a week since you'd arrived, but you’d been reduced to living out of your car while you looked for a place to stay. You didn't want to waste your limited resources on an inn or motel, so instead you slept in your car, bathed at truck stops and ate with food stamps.

The good thing about being mostly broke before you left was that you had some resources available to you, like the food stamps. The bad thing was that you were running low, and the thought of spending your reserves of cash on food made you anxious.

At least you'd managed to apply for unemployment before you left. If things didn't work out for that long  you'd have something to fall back on. You gave yourself a mental pat on the back.

You took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air that was so different from the humid Florida air you were used to, and languidly observed your surroundings. There were people of all ages walking around the park. Some were enjoying the company of their pets, others walked with purpose, while others still enjoyed a morning stroll.

You, on the the other hand, were eating a Walmart sandwich, sitting on a park bench, questioning your life choices.

You'd spent the last couple of days applying for jobs and trying to find a flatshare. Neither had yet to show much promise.

You swallowed the last dry mouthful and disheartedly tossed what was left of your sandwich back into its bag. With one last sigh you pushed off the park bench and ambled over to your car.

You plopped into the driver's seat, dropped the bag into the passenger's seat, and plucked your phone from its charger. You were surprised to see that you’d missed a few calls from numbers you didn’t recognize.

You called one of them back, resolved to hang up if it was a collection company.

“Hello?”

Harmless enough…

“Hello, my name is ___? I’m returning a phone call.”

“Oh hi! I’m Bob. I put that ad up on craigslist about the room for rent. I wanted to see if you were still interested and if you’d wanna meet up and see the place…. ”

“... - YES!”

You cleared your throat tentatively.

“I mean, yes. I’d love to meet up. Could you tell me the address? Once I find a pen, a pen...”

You flounder trying to find a pen in your mess of a car and make a note of the address on your arm.

“Thank you very much! Would you like to meet around noon?”

“That works,” They said.

“Then I’ll see you then. Thank you very much and have a nice day!”

“Goodbye.”

You stared at your phone in disbelief, elation rising in your chest. You’d found a place! YES!

Upon looking at your phone once again, you notice that you had a couple other calls missed, and a couple emails about other flatshares.

A few people had responded to your inquiries on their ads. It was surprisingly promising- you'd sent these over the last couple days, but they'd all ended up responding around the same time.

A grin broke on your face as you slipped on your seat belt and plugged your key into the ignition. Your car putted to life as you drove with purpose once again.

 

\------

 

This was going to be even harder than you'd initially thought it would be- and you hadn't started with the highest of expectations... In the last 10 hours you’d been pushed to a limit you didn’t know you had.

You clicked your tongue and ambled back to your car on the curb.

You gingerly slid into the driver's seat and automatically drove yourself to the truckstop you'd been sleeping at the last couple nights. Your chest was tight with the anxiety that came with the crash of expectations. You left the windows open to still your tears and calm your breathes as you unwillingly(?) revisited the events of the day.

The first person that you’d reached out to, Bob- had pretty much required that you were working all the time and only went home to sleep. That wasn't the part that bothered you though, you've lived like that when you'd had two jobs- it just irked you that they obviously didn't want to know you were there, and the rent was just a bit too steep for Night-only presence.

After that you'd learned that a vast majority of the emails and calls you'd received were of the rejection variety. But you kept trying.

The next person you’d reached had a beautiful flat in a community with a pool and gym. But they made you an offer you had to refuse when you noticed their lease included a couple clauses that said that you were essentially selling your soul to their religion (that you'd never heard of before). It took forever for you to tell them that you weren't interested since they wouldn’t change the stipulations.

Another person tried to rent you their closet with limits on the bathroom and kitchen, and the last person hadn’t even seen you.

Once you were back at the station you found a dark corner of the parking lot (as close to the building as you could) to set up for the night. But tonight you didn't even feel like taking a shower, you couldn't even bring yourself to feel sadness as you cried silently alone in the car.

In a strange town, in a strange state, far- far away from your lifelines. Even the stars and moon looked foreign to you.

You took a shuddering breath as you grabbed your pillbox from the division. You don't remember how, but you found the energy to take the pills and start on the rest of the sandwich you'd left abandoned in your passenger seat. You'd forgotten that you needed food. That happened when you felt like your stomach migrated to the soles of your feet.

Your mom's custom text sound resounded through you, along with a couple other notifications as your phone turned off drive mode. When you brought the phone out of your pocket you noticed a couple of messages from your family and friends. Your mom was worried about you and wanted you to call them tomorrow. Your friends had messaged you on your new facebook account through messenger, some wishing you luck, while others cursed you for leaving before telling them you were moving.

A chuckle escaped your lips despite yourself. They might not have come with you, but your friends were there with you. Supporting you.

You finally got enough feeling in your limbs to realize that you were freezing, and promptly closed your windows. You didn't have the energy to deal with responding to your friends right now, so you made a mental note to talk to them tomorrow.

However, your stubbornness soon reared its ugly head, and you found yourself back on craigslist on your phone- trying to see if any newer, more promising listings had surfaced while you'd be running around today.

You had to be more careful when responding to these craigslist roomshare listings. You reminded yourself: If it sounded too good to be true- it probably was. You knew you had to lower your expectations, you were expecting too much for last-minute housing accommodations. You told yourself this over and over again...

You still, however, found yourself turning your nose up at the same horrible listings.

“Man I miss sleeping in a BED!” You whined, flipping onto your side as you refreshed the page the last time for the night. You were surprised to see a new listing.

It was an apartment in town. The first month was already paid for. They just needed someone to pick up a lease.

Holy shit that sounded so nice- it’d give you time to find a job so you could pay rent like a normal person-

It didn’t have any pictures though…

You swallowed thickly, tapping your fingers on the console- your thumb hovering over the link as more worst case scenarios flitted across your consciousness.

You intentionally ignored the fears your anxiety fed you and wrote a message with your contact information and some simple inquires.

Could you see some pictures of the room?

What areas would you have access to?  And finally-

What was the catch?

This was the perfect listing for you and your current situation, but your doubts got the better of you. You apologized if you came across as rude- but you had to ask after some of the other listings you'd dealt with.

With one final tap of your finger the message was sent. Now it was out of your hands.

To your surprise, they responded a couple minutes later, with pictures. They showed the living room, the kitchen, the very sparsely furnished bedroom, and- thank god! A basic en-suite.

Apparently the catch for the living arrangement was that the lease went out in 4 months, and the other flatmate was a monster. So you’d have to be okay with living in close proximity with a monster for at least 4 months.

You thanked your lucky stars that you'd found this listing when you did. Considering that you’d moved up here explicitly for the chance to meet up with monsters- you wouldn’t say you minded the thought of sharing a flat with one.  And you told them such.

They expressed interest in meeting you about taking over their lease, and you set a time a place to meet up the next day.

With that done, you heaved a sigh of relief as you placed the phone on the console, took your glasses off, and wiped at your face. You’d been so tired and with the promise of an opportunity tomorrow the strength left your limbs, you placed your glasses in the division, reclined your chair, and drifted off to sleep.


	3. You Need a Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet a flame elemental for the first time.

Today was going to be a better day. You'd woken up early, but refreshed- taken a shower and immediately made your way to the meeting place using google maps- which never failed you.

  
(Expect that one time you'd ended up on a deserted forest road feeling like the first victim in a horror movie- but the important thing was that it didn't fail you now.)  
Since you'd reached your destination so quickly you'd managed to avoid a lot of traffic and park close to the restaurant.

  
"Grillbys....Yep, this is the place." You murmured as you put the car in park.

"That's a pretty cool name actually"

You grinned as you made your way to the door. The door opened easily with a chime and you were soon enveloped by the warmth of the store.

The restaurant looked very familiar actually-   
Before you was a charming bar and a restaurant full of warm wooden tables and booths. What you noticed the most, however, was that the chairs were still on the tables and bar- exactly the scene you'd been faced with everyday when you'd come into work.

Oh god- you were going to be that one customer weren't you? The one that came before opening and made everything harder

The excuse 'But the door was open!' was on the tip of your tongue but you bit it back. That excuse wasn't going to help. You pivoted on your ankle to walk right back out when you heard a voice call from the back.

"You're late! Give me a second and I'll be out."

The prospect of being late puzzled you, you were sure you'd made good time- but that was lost on you as you let out the breath you'd been holding. You put your coat over your arm and took a closer look at the diner. It was much nicer than the one you'd worked at previously actually.

The bar had a dark cherry red tint that you absolutely loved. You pulled one of the stools off the bar to admire the counter-top and took a seat. You couldn't hear more than the crackling of a fire in the back- Apparently Grillby referred to grilled food- a fitting name.

You tried to patiently wait for BP, but you were so excited about this prospect that you couldn't sit still. Before you'd known it your autopilot flipped on and you started pulling down chairs. Since you were there, and late, you might as well help the poor sucker with the chairs.

Once you were done with that you went back over to the bar to sit.

"I hope you don't mind- but I went ahead and put down the chairs." you called back.

Silence... Maybe that hadn't been the best idea.

"You need anything else done?" you added jokingly.

All you could hear from the back was the crackling of that fire. As the silence stretched the crackling only got louder and you began to fear that they'd left the fire unattended while you'd been focused on setting up the tables and things might just take a turn for the worse.

You shot around the bar to check the kitchen real quick, just to be safe- but when you reached for the handle it swung out of reach and your vision was consumed by a crimson flame.

A person was **_on fire_**.

You recoiled in horror, falling onto your backside. You should do something! You should put it out! _GRAB AN EXTINGUISHER_!

  
But you hadn't seen one when you'd been keeping yourself busy. A quick scan of the room confirmed that. What kind of restaurant doesn't have a **BLOODY EXTINGUISHER**?

  
Dear lord what were you going to do? The fire was blinding you and it was getting hard to breathe.

  
They kneeled in front of you and you clenched your eyes tight.

"Calm down." cracked a strange voice.

You hesitated before carefully rubbing the heels of your hands into your eyes and peered up at them.

Despite the fire that consumed their head, their uniform remained intact, completely untouched actually.

"How's you- your clothes...." You looked up at them distraught and puzzled. - they weren't screaming like you'd expect someone on fire to do. "Yo-You're on fire..." You stated lamely, shifting your gaze to the fire resistant frock staring at their uniform dumbfounded The soft crackling of the fire warped again and they spoke.

"I am a fire monster- nothing is wrong." their words were slow as they stood up. "The fire does not hurt me, nor will it hurt you..."

You couldn't help it as you flinched away from their outstretched hand.

You examined their hand before reaching for it cautiously. You were startled by the heat, but even more so when the flames just glided over your skin, warm- but not burning you as it should.

You retracted your arm in a panic and shot to your feet.  
  
Then you were on your feet again looking up at the monster, and you had a crushing realization

"Oh my god.... Oh my god! I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to, I mean, I thought-" You couldn't English, words failed you. You let out a distressed breath and barreled forward.

"I thought there was a kitchen fire and when I saw you I thought someone had caught fire I mean, you are on fire but I thought someone was on fire?" you babbled hysterically.

Dear lord you were making a fool of yourself.

Oh god if you'd grabbed a fire extinguisher you probably would have killed them, just like a Charmander. Just because you hadn't thought things through- when a hiss filled the air and your head shot up to look for any sprinklers-

You realized that they were shushing you, trying to calm you down, and you buried your face in your hands- mortified. If this was your prospective roommate you'd just ruined everything, there was no saving this first impression. You'd fucked up.

You peeked up at where their face should be, and were surprised when you noticed a pair of glasses floating on it and, also surprised when you felt that they weren't annoyed with you- just the opposite actually they seemed amused. Though you couldn't imagine how you could come to that conclusion- they didn't have a face for you to read but somehow you knew more easily and surely then you ever were reading a person.

"It's quite alright, I appreciate the concern." They chuckled softly and you started breathing again. "Could I ask what you're doing here?"

"Aren't you BP?" you asked breathlessly.

"I can't say that I am. But I can say that I am Grillby, the owner of this establishment."

"Oh I'm so sorry- this must be weird having a stranger just waltz into your diner" You said in a rush of air before clearing your throat. "I'm sorry for-" You hesitated. "Well- for everything actually. I didn't mean to... anything. I'm new in the area and this is all kind of... new to me." You finished lamely. That was no excuse... but that's all you had to work with.

They laughed at that "It's understandable, you weren't the first to react that way- and you won't be the last." they shrugged it off. "I regret to inform you, however, that we aren't open yet." he said, crossing his arms.

"Oh... OH! I'm sorry." You pulled out your phone to check the time. It was 10, you were 2 hours early to meeting your prospective roommate... at least that means you hadn't blown it with them yet. "When do you open?" you asked quietly.

"We open at 11." He said

"Oh no I'm so sorry- I wasn't even supposed to be here until 12! I'll get out of your hair- fire?." You said. "Well I suppose it doesn't really matter- I shouldn't be here." You nodded to them and rushed out door.

You could hear them laugh heartily behind you as you absconded.

"It's no trouble at all- " he said.

You ducked around the corner and leaned against the wall, heart racing.

Oh god that was humiliating. What had you just done?

You retreated back to the safety of your car to stare at your phone and wait for the right time to go back in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I didn't really think this through when I came up with the initial idea. If anyone would like to suggest any conflicts or anything I'd love to hear them. It might help me figure out what I'm doing ;u;


	4. Gesundheit

You were tempted to text BP and ask them to meet you somewhere else. The longer you waited outside the restaurant, the more embarrassed you got. You watched as the customers trickled in once it opened at 11. You didn't fail to notice that most of them were monsters.

It was pretty surprising actually; after all, during the last couple of weeks since you had been up here, you hadn't seen ONE monster, and suddenly there were so many! Well, you guessed that since the owner was a monster, it probably made things easier on them to not have to deal with judgemental people; you could relate.

But now you were at a bit of a mental impasse. You felt like you had to apologize one more time to the flame dude. Grillby. You felt horrible when you realized you had reacted in a very negative fashion. You wanted to clear the air. But you didn't know how, and your stomach flipped at the prospect.

Actually... it growled.

 

You planted your face on the steering wheel as you were hit with the revelation of your hunger. You had been in such a hurry to get there that you hadn't actually eaten anything. Why would you have? You thought you were only going to be a little early, meet up with BP, and eat. How were you supposed to know that you'd wake up BUTT FUCK EARLY IN THE MORNING, arrive too early, and make an ass of yourself?

_I could have looked at the time..._ you thought bitterly.

You needed to invest in a watch.

 

Your stomach growling brought your mind back to reality. You pulled out your phone and checked the time. It was 11:45am. BP wasn't supposed to be there until noon. You could wait for them, eat with them once they arrived, and pretend you hadn't been an arse that morning. Or you could go in now to satisfy your belly - you could have sworn that it purred in agreement - and apologize, before BP got there and learned you were prejudiced too. As afraid as you were to go in and apologize, the thought of just ignoring it left a bad taste in your mouth.

You grabbed your purse, got out of your car, and, resigned to your fate, pushed the front door open.

 

You were greeted by the same humble chime, and the eyes of most of the patrons in the bar. Your mind screamed as you made your way to the counter where the fire elemental was calmly cleaning a glass. You wondered briefly how the rag didn’t burst into flames before placing your hands on the bar and looking up at where Grillby’s glasses floated.

“I’m very sorry about how I acted this morning- it was wrong of me and I didn’t mean to offend you in any way.” You stated, bowing- which incidentally led to you smashing your head on the counter. You placed your hands on the back of your head with a hiss as tears started to form in your eyes.

You immediately regretted your decision as you held your breath, expecting everything in the world to go wrong at that exact moment. The seconds dragged on and you were tempted to twirl around and walk right back out of there. You were only a little surprised when they started laughing. It started as a chuckle before growing into a laugh as bright as the bartender themselves.

You hesitantly tilted your head to see Grilby’s flame had grown; you weren’t sure how to take that until they looked down at you smiling. There wasn’t a hint of malice or contempt and you could feel it in the warmth of their light. They adjusted their glasses and put their hand over where their mouth would be as they chuckled.

 “My apologies for laughing. I already said it was okay this morning, you don’t need to keep apologizing.” they said warmly.

 

As you calmed down you could finally hear that the people in the room were going about their own business; they weren't focusing on you. And you finally recognized that Grillby was not upset with you. Relief flooded your system and you collapsed onto a nearby stool.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure.” You said sniffling at the sting of pain, closing your eyes in relief as you melted onto the bar surface.

“You needn’t apologize so profusely dear.” they stated as they put the spotless glass to hang behind them.

"Sorry-" You winced and chuckled. “I can't make any promises.” you smiled.

Grillby nodded in acknowledgement, smiling. It was an interesting feature, very pretty.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" he asked.

You mulled it over. "Could I get a menu please?" you asked, cradling your head in your hands

They handed you a menu and waited patiently for your order. Sadly enough there weren't any traditional breakfasts, but they did have the next best thing.

"I'd like a royal burger please, with swiss cheese." You handed back the menu and Grillby disappeared into the backroom. You pulled your phone out and informed BP that you would be waiting at the bar. You were the only human, so you shouldn't be hard to spot.

They responded immediately with a simple 'Nice to meet you'. You stared at the screen, puzzled, before someone cleared their throat to your side.

 

They were a cat. Not only that, but a ginger cat. You had to stop yourself from reaching out to pet them. It was weird seeing that adorable feline head on top of that anthropomorphic body. You stared at them with wide eyes for what was probably an unacceptable amount of time before asking, "Are you BP?".

They nodded their head smiling to the umpteinth degree and took a seat beside you, sticking their hand -paw?- out. "It’s a pleasure to meet you."

You grasped their hand and gave it a firm shake, “___, the pleasure is all mine.”; smiling bemusedly as their ears twitched on their head. You righted yourself on your stool. “You can calm down dude. You’re not at work.” You chuckled. (You’d been stuck in that mode before too.) “I hope you’re having a nice afternoon so far though.”

They nodded abashedly. “For the most part yeah, how about you?”

“I can’t complain….” You said wiping your eyes with your sleeves. Your head really hurt. “Sorry, I haven’t done this in what feels like forever.” you laughed.

 

At that point Grillby brought back a big juicy burger with a side of fries and placed them in front of you; you realized that you probably should have ordered a drink. When you looked up to ask Grillby he was already smiling and the request stopped in your throat.

“I’d offer you a glass of water-” he crackled, smile spreading. “But I don’t touch the stuff.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that one. When you remembered this morning though it devolved into awkward chuckles. By then Grillby had already left though, so that was dandy.

 

You cleared your throat. “Okay, down to business.” You plucked up a fry and ate it. “What’s my roommate going to be like? Any pet peeves they have that I might need to avoid?” You eat some more fries, savoring the taste. They were only fries, why did they taste so good?

They scratched the back of their neck and gave a nervous smile. “Well, your roommate’s an aspiring actor.”

“Wow, that’s cool!” You smiled

They shrugged, a strained smile taking hold of their features. “But they’re high strung, can’t cook, and a downer.” Their eyes bugged out in an disconcerting manner as they spoke about your prospective roommate. That was worrisome.

“I’m guessing you don’t like them too much then?” you asked. They flinched at that,  looking down and to the side.

“Don’t get me wrong little buddy- they have issues, but who doesn’t? They’re working on it.” He fiddled with his little paws and you restrained yourself from cooing at it.

 

You nodded in affirmation. “That’s not that bad, I’m definitely a lot worse than that.” you chuckled. “I’m loud, obnoxious, nosey-” You counted on your fingers. ”Well I’m sure I have some good qualities- but you’d have to ask me on a good day.” Your smile strained when you realized you were in depression denial again, but you pushed through it. “I promise I’m not all bad though; most people tend to like me… I think…” You decided to take a bite of the burger to keep your mouth preoccupied.

 

They laughed softly at that. “I like you already.”

You took a moment to swallow before saying “Now I just hope your roommate will feel the same.” You looked back over at BP and smiled. “Even if they don’t though, I could cope for 4 months.” You said contemplatively.

They nodded at that, looking at you before looking down at the bartop.

 

“I’m the roommate.” he stated simply.

You almost choke trying to talk with your mouth full and have to hold your hand up to get them to wait. Once you finally swallowed you said, “I thought you were looking for someone to take over your lease?”

“I’m actually helping my old roommate get out of their lease. They’re moving in with their cousin and they can’t do this themselves.” He said shrugging nonchalantly, pulling a cigarette from his front shirt pocket and holding it between his fingers.

 

_Crap he smokes..._ “I understand how that is,” you affirmed then cleared your throat. “I’m sorry, but could you tell me if you smoke in the apartment? Because I'm an Asthmatic."

"Gesundheit?" he said, puzzled.

"It means I have asthma?" you offered.

He tilted his head quizzically at you, one ear propping up. You couldn't help but smile; it was adorable.

 

"Asthma is a health condition that some humans have-" You figured that monsters didn't have it because BP didn't seem to know anything about it. "Certain... allergens or irritants can trigger it. And it causes shortness of breath and sometimes in my case, panic attacks."

He looked at you in alarm.

"And cigarette smoke irritates it." you added pointedly.

Once again he looked at you, puzzled, before looking at the cigarette in his hand. He shoved the cigarette back in his pocket and smiled sheepishly back at you

 

"Sorry about that, little buddy," he said, scratching the back of his head. "It's a habit I've been trying to quit since I got topside." He looked over to you. "No I don't smoke in the apartment. Aside from me quitting, it's also against my lease agreement."

“Oh thank GOD. I was afraid for a second there.” You smiled.

“I believe it, with something like that.” He looked stressed just thinking about it.

 

You nod in solace and look over to the cat monster in beside you. He seemed chill enough, and he had a similar sense of self deprecation, so he probably wouldn’t hold that against you.  And you already met him, so you wouldn’t have to have the awkward first meeting while you were moving in either.

“Okay, if it's okay with you I'd like to fill out the paperwork. I'd like to sleep in a BED tonight... If that's not too presumptuous of me I mean.”  
“Nah, it's fine with me. One less thing to do.“ he shrugged and pulled papers out of his messenger bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in a month! WOOT WOOT! >D  
> Also, I don't know where to mention it, but my sister is my beta. She's Awakaru on tumblr but she deserves all the praise. She's the reason these chapters are the least bit legible. ;u;  
> Also I just realized this is probably going to be very long, I've got plans for day to day events so.... this'll be an adventure! xD


	5. One more day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don’t know "spoons" is, it is a description of energy use referred to as 'the spoon theory'.

It took a couple days to get situated, but by the end of the week you had managed to arrange your room and empty your poor car.  But you still hadn't found a job, near or far, from your newfound residence.

But now that you had found a place to stay, your daily life had changed tremendously!

Instead of getting up every morning, stretching, and filling out lease applications, you woke up, stretched, and filled out _job_ application

Okay, that wasn't entirely fair. Now you didn't wake up in a cramped car seat and scramble to bathe because you felt disgusting. You weren't pulling your hair out, afraid someone would break into your car while you were sleeping. You weren’t looking for a place to stay, And you weren’t scrambling to find wifi to reach your objective.

You woke up in a fluffy bed, nice and cool and cozy, got ready for the day in the privacy of your own bathroom, and had the option to make your own food in the morning, which saved money.

You sighed, trying to count your blessings as you worked through the last part of the assessment.

You tapped your fingers on the breakfast nook table, glaring tiredly at the assessment question before you, taking a deep drink of your tea.  You were getting really irritated with all of the applications you had been doing, and the obvious lack of results it brought about.

It took more than a couple days to find work. You knew that. You just had to keep reminding yourself of that.

You stopped working on the assessment to check your phone’s calendar; it had already been three weeks since you had gotten here. You had only been working on trying to find work for roughly 2 weeks. But still, it had already been _2 weeks_ without a call.

You took a deep breath and tried to calm down, rubbing at your tired eyes. Work was hard to find, and it would take time. You grumbled and finished the assessment with a flourish, right as BP stumbled into the kitchen. It was the same sight you experienced the first morning in your new living arrangements.

You chuckled lightly as he filled his “Don’t talk to me” coffee mug and plopped into his seat at the table. He stretched out in a yawn, free paw clawing at the table as you stared at his teeth. It was a bit intimidating to say the least. The first time you saw it, you had screeched and toppled onto the ground. BP had hissed and damn near jumped out of his skin.

This time, however, you were sipping your tea calmly, knowing just what was going to happen. And he hadn’t had to brew his coffee, so he realized you were in the kitchen a lot earlier.

He just was not a morning person, you learned. But he still woke up really early, every morning, to look over his scripts. Even though he didn’t want to be awake, he got up to do something he really wanted to do. And you had to admire that in him.

“So how’s High School Musi-pocalypse going so far? Did you guys finally figure out how you were going to end the play?”

BP nodded. “I’m not gonna tell you though,” he said, smiling at the script in knowing fashion. Your face fell at that, and you can’t help but pout. He hadn’t really told you much about the play to begin with (you only knew it’s title because it had been on the cover of his script), so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But your curiosity didn’t like being teased.

“Let me guess. If I want to know how it ends, I need to go see the show.” you drawled.

BP simply nodded and continued to read. The only thing the feline told you was that his part didn’t have a name; but he did have a couple lines, which was much better than the first part he had on the surface with his current troupe. He told you he played the part of a bush.

But no matter what part he was playing, he always gave it his all. You were a little jealous, actually. You remembered your younger years when you had been in drama; you had always burned up a little inside every time you got an insignificant part. It took a conscious effort to remind yourself that in a play, every part was important.

And seeing BP looking over the script so intently almost made you believe that.

You sat silently together for a little while longer, until BP actually had to leave for work.

And then you got ready to go. You grabbed your keys, your bag, and an accordion folder full of your cover letters and resumes. You already had a list of the places you were going to visit today, and in what order. You reviewed your appearance in the bathroom mirror, and tried to make sure you looked nice before heading out.

 

You somehow managed to scrape together the spoons to work on this every day for the last three days. You were determined to find work.

Not that it really seemed to help your job search, if you were honest with yourself. You don't remember who it was that told you that you had to call, visit, turn in a resume, in order to get a job. That hadn't been what ad gotten any of your other jobs, but at this point you were desperate.

So you walked and drove all around Ebott City, near and far, handing out your papers, and just making your presence known to employers.

A couple of the establishments told you that their entire application process was online, and that there was no need to come in. Don't call them, they'll call you kind of jazz.

At the warehouse you applied to, the guard wouldn't let you in, and you barely managed to convince him to give the hiring manager your resume before he kicked you out.

Most of the places just didn't want any extra paper apparently, as they kept informing you that they had online applications, as if you didn’t know. One of the receptionists actually took your resume, to your surprise. When you turned around to thank them again however, you saw them throwing it away.

It was pretty much the same song and dance you had experienced the last couple of days honestly. Except for the lady who threw the papers away. She didn't even recycle it, the bitch.

 

You only had one more place left, then you could go home and... Okay, today you were just going to movie binge, because you knew you wouldn’t be able to do more applications once you got home, with how drained you were. You shook off the disappointment and grabbed the last pile of papers, getting out of your car and making your way to the Mailboxes Ship and Copy place. It was a really horrible name, but they said they were hiring so it was something. You took another deep breath, slapped on a smile, and walked in.

As soon as you walked in, you were greeted by cheerful redhead at the counter. “Hello, welcome to Mailboxes Ship and Copy Place. If you’re here for a mailbox, they are still being shipped to the store, but I can help you with anything else you might need.” Her smile was so dazzling yours eased into a natural grin. You rehearsed your line in your head until you reached her at the counter.

“Hello! My name is ___ and I came about the position I found on  EbottHelpWanted.com. Could I please speak with the hiring manager?”

She looked you over, eyes sparkling strangely before gesturing for you to follow her. “Savard, keep an eye on the door for me, would you?” she called out.

 

The girl motioned for you to follow her behind the counter and into the back room. This was a first.

She turned into a small office and walked around the desk to look out at you. You couldn't help but stare a moment before she spoke.  “Nice to meet you ____. My name is Margaret and I'm the hiring manager. Nice to meet you.”

She smiled again and stretched her hand out to shake yours. You let out a flustered huff of breath and tried not to fall as you returned the handshake.

“Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know-” You started.

“Oh my goodness, did you believe me?” She laughed merrily, falling onto the plush chair behind the desk. She just laughed harder when she saw how confused you were- but when she noticed how crestfallen you looked she had the decency to look abashed. “Oh I’m so sorry sweetie, Mrs. Margaret is actually out today taking care of her other business.”

You couldn’t help the bitter look on your face as you tried to put into words how upset you were with this particular individual. After all the disappointment you experienced today, that was just a slap in the face. You had to hold your breath and force a smile on your face, falling into customer service mode.

“Oh it’s okay, I’m sure you couldn’t have just told me that outside.” You pulled out your resume and paper application, placing it on the desk, smile straining. You weren’t going to cry.

“When Mrs. Margaret comes back please give this to her, I would greatly appreciate it. Good day.”

 

You spun on a heel and walked quickly out the backroom with your head held high, passed the young man that was taking care of the shop, taking small shallow breaths until you were out the door and out of sight.

Your breath sputtered as you dove into an alley and threw your accordion folder at the wall falling against the exposed red brick of the alleyway. You exhaled roughly, glaring a hole into the wall as tears blurred your vision.

What kind of person does that?  How could she think that was an okay thing to do? You ground your teeth, knuckles white. You were so ANGRY! But the tears were coming, and you choked on the sobs that claimed your body

You punched the wall, reeling from the pain. At least now you had an actual reason to cry, you thought bitterly as you cradled the limb in your other hand. You were so stupid! You punched the wall again, breathing ragged, pain overpowering your mental strain. Then you heard it… a tiny whimper. You turned to the side, wiping at your eyes, to take in an unsavory scene. There were three seemingly full-grown figures crowding a small cowering figure.

“Get off of them!!” You screeched indignantly. They got up, your assumption verified: a small yellow body was curled in on itself in the middle of them  “Who the hell beats up a kid?!” you croaked, gesturing at the ball.

“Look kid, just turn around and walk away.” You didn’t even care who said it, your blood was rushing and all you wanted to do was cry. You weren’t ready for a conversation with anyone, let alone a confrontation like this. You choked on another sob that erupted from your chest like a demon and pulled your mace free from your keychain, wielding it like a gun.

“Look you don’t wanna do that, we ain’t gonna hurt you, just _walk away._ ”

You could tell who said that. It was a tall muscled guy in a wifebeater. Yeah, you weren’t trusting him. You scoffed and flipped off the safety. “Don’t make me use this, just leave- leave the poor kid alone,”

When he took a step toward, you bristled. ”Back the fuck up! This shit is mace and it burns,” You hissed. “And you can’t get it off unless you got DAWN and no one can fucking afford fucking Dawn!” You started laughing despite yourself, your emotions out of your control.

“Oh come on, it ain’t a kid,” drawled a young boy sporting a worn hoodie. “It’s just a fucking monster.” He squatted and lifted the child’s head by a spike to reveal that they were indeed not human. But your blood ran like fire in your veins when you noted that they didn’t have any arms.

Your shoulders fell and slumped against the wall. As if your faith in humanity hadn’t ALREADY been challenged the entirety of the last couple months- now you had to run into THIS. When you were already falling apart! As you leaned against the wall, the musclebound guy took a step forward, apparently taking your relaxing as you being okay with this.

“You wanna hit it?” His grin made your skin crawl and stomach drop.

The other two behind him grinned up at you, welcoming you to attack the monster. But you had a better idea.

When he took another step forward you held your breath, squinted, and pushed the button.

You heard him scream as he clawed at his eyes in vain before stumbling out of the alley.

The other two weren’t smiling anymore. They both stared after their leader, baffled. before the last person standing turned to stare at you, dumbfounded. You just laughed, and laughed, laughter hitching with your distress. They were obviously unnerved by your reaction, looking at you like you’d lost your marbles. But you didn’t care; nothing justified this cruelty and you couldn’t just walk away.

They both shared a look and then glared at you defiantly. You just pushed the button again, sweeping the mace in an arc in ensure that both of them got hit. They just fell to the floor, wiping at their faces as your unnerving laughter filled the alley. They picked each other up and scrambled out of the space, and your laughs caved into sobs as you fell to your knees in front of the yellow ball. They were shaking, and whimpering, and it was just wrong.

 

Then you were coughing. Some of the mace had still been in the air and you were choking on it. You picked up the child and pulled them out into the open air.

You pulled out your inhaler and inhaled the medicine hungrily, trying to even out your breathing.

At least the kid seemed to be okay, and though you were wheezing something awful, you felt like it would go away. As much as you wanted to just conk out, you figured leaving the area first might be a good idea. You wiped at the mess that your face was,  and tried to gently wake the monster.

“Hey, hey kid…Wake Up...”


	6. Thank god for Ice cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay sorry for the delay, I had some stuff come up and couldn't work on this as much as I wanted to. I don't think I can stick with a schedule for this, so I'll update as I can... Sorry again.

You laughed. You didn't understand why you were laughing, but still you did.

You thought you'd been having such a bad day- but it wasn't really that bad. Hell, despite being a giant mess of snot and tears you'd stood up to some pretty scary guys.  
  
In retrospect that had been REALLY STUPID, but it was done and you still had your limbs, so you counted it as a win.  
  
You wiped your face on your sleeve, streaks of black appearing before your eyes. You probably looked pretty bad right now, but you couldn't care less

You giggled despite yourself and rocked onto the soles of your feet. Wiping the rest of your tears, makeup and snot across your arm and hands before wiping your limbs on your black pants and kneeling next to the small yellow bundle.

The kid roused from their spot on the cold concrete, finally relaxing enough to unfurl themselves from the ball they'd become.

"It's okay... it's okay now kid." you murmured, leaning on the wall next to them.

They turned to look up at you and scrunched up their face. You tried to look sympathetic; you weren't how sure that was working for you, but they laughed so that must be a good thing.  
  
"Let's get you out of here. Do you know your parent's phone number? I can let you use my phone..."

You pulled out your phone from your pocket. It beeped urgently, revealing that it was on the verge of dying. You grimaced before offering it to the child. Hesitantly the child took the phone with their feet, deftly maneuvering the screen to call someone. You couldn’t help but stare in surprised awe.

“Who is this?” graveled the voice on the phone.

When had they put it on speakerphone? The kid just sorta kicked it over to you as they curled in on themselves.  
You gave them a strained smile and picked up the phone. “Hello… My name is ____ and I found your small yellow friend?” you fruitlessly shrugged. “They were just in trouble a second ago and I wanted to know if you might be able to come get them?” You figured telling them what had happened over the phone, probably wouldn’t be a very good idea. “I’m in NorthTown right now, I’m sorry, that’s all I really know, I’m new in the area…”

\-------

After some deliberation, it was decided that they would meet up at a nearby McDonalds. It was a public place and apparently the only one in the small section of Ebott City that was called ‘NorthTown’. You smiled at the familiar building. It had the same layout as the one back home, and that was very comforting with how the day had gone. Once you walked in, you could see it even had the little game consoles too! Thank god. Hopefully that might help Monster Kid.

You still couldn’t believe when Undyne, Monster Kid’s friend on the phone, had said their name. It seemed so fake and lazy you’d almost said something.

But you don’t know shit about monster culture so you left it alone.

You brought them over to the touch screens and grabbed a free chair so they could play with their feet as they leaned back, before going to order some ice cream for the kid.

You held the cone for them so they could play though. They seemed sufficiently entertained at the very least.

It was so weird though, how you hadn’t seen any more monsters around. This was the first city to have them after all. If there were so many of them underground, shouldn’t you be able to see more of them around? Otherwise why was everyone flipping their shit?

Your idle thoughts were interrupted by someone screaming to your right. You jumped and landed on the floor as the chair under you flew out from under you. You turned to see some dude covering his mouth walking away from the- yes, the two monsters standing in the doorway. One was a tall, very built fish lady. And next to her was a small…. Salamander? Dinosaur? You weren’t sure. The only thing you were sure of was that your butt hurt, and that these were probably Monster Kid’s friends.

Monster kid just seemed to glance up at them from the pile they’d ended up in on the floor, so you doubted your conclusion for a solid second. Then the blue lady stomped in your direction and you were very scared she was going to end up stomping on you, you sat up quickly- and she plucked monster kid up from beside you, carrying them under her arm and rushed outside. Your stomach dropped, what was she doing?! You scrambled to your feet and followed her outside, just in time to watch her hurl them up into the air. You fell to your knees gaping up at the sky.

Oh god, what just happened? You knew things were weird between monsters and humans, but amongst themselves? What were you going to tell their friends? Family?

“What the HELL?” You asked.

The amazonian fish women barely spared you a glance as she caught the little yellow bundle. God bless! You shot up to your feet, the poor child was shaking-- or that’s what you thought. When you got a good look at their face they were smiling, alive and buzzing with energy; that left you at a loss for words, honestly. This was so unexpected that you could only let out a confused whine as you made your way over to the others as the fish lady spun them around. You weren’t sure how to greet them, so you stuck your hand out awkwardly.

“Hello, nice to meet you? Are you the one I spoke with on the phone? Also- why did you throw child into the air?” You flushed as they stopped and stared at you. Yeah, that had been really stiff but fuck all.

“P-probably because Monster Kid loves it…” came a quiet voice from behind you. You turned your head to see the yellow dinosaur behind you, fidgeting with her claws.

“Yeah, MK loves EXTREME flying! Ain’t that right kid?”

The child nodded in general, wriggling around in the lady’s arms. Well, it was definitely an improvement from the somber child that had sat in your car on the way here. It just felt right.

The fish grasped your hand tightly, firmly shaking it and grinning down at you. Golly was she tall.

“Yeah, ____, right?”

“Ah……. yes! And you must be…” What was it again? ”Oh! Undyne, right?” She nodded as Monster Kid climbed onto her shoulder. Your eyes drifted over to the dinosaur. “And who are you?” you asked softly.

“I-I’m Alphys…” She mumbled. She offered her hand, looking down at the ground.

You shook it softly as she seemed pretty timid, but you regretted it when her hand clenched down on yours with a strength you weren’t expecting. At least you could guess with Undyne, but that little lizard lady surprised you. You cradled your hurt hand as she flushed and started apologizing.

“No problem, that’s what I get for underestimating you.” you chuckled, shaking your hand from the pain.

You looked back up to Monster Kid sitting on Undyne’s shoulder; your eyes widened. You were positive that they’d been covered in injuries. One of them had been bleeding; but now there was barely a mark left on them. You tilted your head to the side but choose to ignore it; you weren’t sure if it was your place to ask. So you smiled at them. ”Now you’re going to be okay, right? You’ve got such strong friends here to take care of you.”

“Thanks for getting Monster kid outta there dude.” Undyne said, grinning a... very intimidating grin honestly. Her mouth was full of extremely sharp, tear-the-flesh-right-off-your-puny-bones teeth. Your smile in turn was a little more on the fearful side than you probably would have liked, but that was a _scary_ amount of teeth.

“I’m happy I was able to help.” you say timidly, rubbing at the dried tear trails you were sure still stained your face.

“They were awesome!” chimed Monster Kid. (You still could not believe that that was really their name.) “They took on three guys bigger than them, all with that tiny pink thing on their keychain!” he added, kicking his feet.

Hearing it explained out loud, you were suddenly acutely aware of how dumb a thing that had been to do and you blushed bashfully. But when Undyne seemed to nod approvingly, pride bloomed in your chest.

“Yeah that was really dumb!” The fish lady laughed.

Did you think that feeling was pride? You meant shame.

“Undyne…” Alphys warned.

“You’re so small and flimsy!” Undyne continued, laughing. You just pouted. Anyone would seem small and flimsy compared to the giant in front of you.

“Undyne!” Alphys chided.

“But you did do a good job, helping my friend out,” She put one hand on his leg. “You did us a solid.” You saw Alphys nodding in your peripheral.

You noticed Monster Kid eyeing the Ice cream that was slowly melting down your arm, and  brought it up to their face; they licked the melting bits before shoving their nose under it and standing on Undyne’s shoulder, balancing the cone on their snout.

You stared in wonder when Monster Kid somehow managed to drop the ice cream, cone and all, into their mouth. Blinking before turning your attention back to the giant fish amazon, also known as Undyne.

“I was pretty lucky actually.” you acknowledged. Like, honestly, it had been really very dumb to go against those brutes by yourself, especially with only your can of mace. You make a mental note to not make a habit out of doing that and chuckle abashedly.

“They say that luck is a talent in itself….” said Alphys. “Don’t undermine your victory.” she murmured.

"Thank you, that means a lot more to me then you know." You smiled warmly at the yellow lizard, who nodded in response.

Your sight shifted to the child as they jumped down from their friend’s shoulder. They seemed, so strong right now, way stronger then you felt anyway. You had so many questions, but you knew better than to voice them all to the people in front of you. You squatted to meet their eye level. “It was nice meeting you MK.” You smiled and patted them on the head.

They grinned at you, and you could feel your mouth stretching further as you let out a laugh. You turned back to the two ladies. ”It was nice meeting you guys, though I’m sorry that it had to be under such bad circumstances…” You stood and fidgeted with your hands. “Should we file something with the police or something? It was an assault after all. I think I got a pretty good look at all of them…”

The ladies shared a glance and Alphys turned back to you with an anxious smile. “It’s okay, we can handle that. I’m s-sorry for the trouble.”

You cocked your head to the side and frowned. “I’m not sure how things work with assault... but could I at least give you my number? In case you need to reach me later?” You weren’t taking a no on this. Their reactions were worrying to say the least.

Once you scribbled your number on the back of your receipt and given it to them, you turned your attention back to Monster Kid. You smiled up at them. “You try and stay out of trouble okay?”

He nodded obediently, but his eyes shone with mischief nonetheless. You couldn’t help but smile a little brighter. They weren’t going to let this drag them down, and you could commend them for that.

 

After they left you grabbed yourself an Ice cream cone, you could use the sugar, and plopped into one of the outdoor stalls. You ate your ice cream slowly, happy to distract yourself from the what you had to do. You couldn’t shake the feeling that something was really off about this town. The presence of monsters was damn near non-existent… except for Grillby’s, you had had little to no exposure to them. Why were so many people freaking out over them? You lingered at the shop in a daze.

It had long since been time to go back home when you peeled yourself off of the bench. You knew it was time to go back, even with your phone’s screen stuck in darkness, by the sun’s spot in the sky. But the entire drive home you couldn’t help but keep wondering what was going on in this town you’d come to.

After staying here for a short while, you had already forgotten why you’d ventured this far, so caught up in trying to stabilize after you very poor-thought out plan.

And today you were reminded that there _are_ people suffering, because they’re different. Because of something that they can’t control, they are being targeted.

The three you’d met today were so nice, full of energy, of life, in spite of the horrible thing that’d happened. You really hoped that this wasn’t an often occurrence. Statistically speaking, for you to have run into that scene made it seen very likely that this was very common. But you didn’t want that to be true.

Once you go home you put your phone to charge and made dinner- cereal with milk, a classic, before popping a movie in. Megamind was definitely going to help you calm down, or at least unwind. But you just couldn’t sit still, you were restless. Today hadn’t gone anywhere near where you had wanted it to go… and you felt bottled up by everything you had to say, all the questions you wanted to ask.

You needed to talk to someone, like, yesterday. You weren’t able to function with so little social contact. So you picked up your laptop and opened Skype. Looks like they were online.

You clicked the phone to call your sister.


	7. Calling home

The familiar skype noise rung in your ears for a couple of seconds, maybe she’d forgotten to mark that she was away? You were just about to cancel the call when her face popped up on the screen.

“Oh my god are you okay?? We haven’t heard from you in a while and everybody’s kiiinda lowkey freaking out?”

"What?" You'd only been up here a couple da-.... weeks. A couple weeks. Man time moved fast. "Ooooooh yeah.... Sorry about that I was a little preoccupied trying to get settled in So I lost track of time I guess." You shrug.

Your sister on the other side stares you down before letting out an annoyed hum. "Still, you could've let us know you were alive, Maybe?" she quirked an eyebrow.

You fidget a bit, can't really argue with that, you were coming up here to see monsters so it's likely they actually thought you could've died...

"I swear, Mama has been 2 seconds from driving up there since she heard where you'd gone. Probably should've told her before you left."

"She wouldn't have let me go and you know it." You looked sheepishly to the side. "Also, I wouldn't have been able to tell her that I didn't have a clue what I was doing... and that I was coming up here without shelter or a job to my name...."

You looked back to see a bemused sis. "Flying by the seat of your pants again huh? I really shouldn't be surprised."

"Anyways, sorry for not calling, I just wanted to make sure I was in a place before anything. Couldn't risk The Mother seeing me and asking me how I was doing when I was living out of my car. You know I can't lie to her."

"Or anyone"

"Or anyone yeah, it's a pain, thanks for reminding me." You pouted."Well now I’m living in a place, a really nice, cheap place. I have a bed and I swear I could sleep all day long." You smiled. "I can not live out of my car, I know this now. God Annie it was such a pain. I did not think this through." you whined.

“____…” She facepalmed, shaking her head. “I would say I can’t believe it, but I can. You’re so compulsive…” She removed her hand from her face with a sigh, eyes closed. “Well, at least you’re safe. That’s good. Expect a lotta calls from mama once I tell her.” She finally opened her eyes, and smiled at her sibling. “So. what’s it like up there? Have you met any monsters yet?”

"OH YEAH!" Annie startled on the other side. "That's what I called about actually... I have met a few monsters, but only a few. With how much people were shitting themselves I was expecting more of them but I've only met a few. One of them is my roommate~" You let that float for a second.

"My roommate is pretty cool, I met him at a monster restaurant, that was full of monsters- but I haven't seen them anywhere else in town. And I've been doing that resume BS for the last couple days. My feet hurt just thinking about it..." You shook your head free of the tangent. "Anyways- the monsters I've met have been really nice. Like. REALLY nice. They all have great energies and I just... I mean... "

Her face shifted into a half-lidded glare, her mouth stretched into a line. “Besides most people being bigots, I can’t imagine any other answer to that.” She let out a sigh.

"Like, I kinda have an idea why people don't like them they're are different and a bit intimidating- Like, they are really big. Well, they can be anyway. BP is only a little taller than me but the fish lady I met today was like. 8 feet tall. Or at least it REALLY felt like it. I’m not used to having to look up at people.”You cleared your throat.

She stared, wide-eyed, into the screen. “Fish lady?” She stopped and stared at her keyboard, mouth stretched into a comical line. “Okay. That’s interesting. You’re… not making it easy to stay put here... That aside though, how did you end up with a monster for a roommate? Spill.”

You laid your head on the desk just in front of the computer. "Had it been 3 days? A week? Or maybe even a month.... I couldn't tell... so many listings..." you said dramatically. You looked back up solemnly "So many _bad_ listings...." You heaved a sigh. "I was about to give up hope. One more refresh before bed. Just one more I kept saying." You sat up and took a deep breath. "That's when I saw it. In the middle of the night when most sane people are sleeping- I found this listing." You gestured in a rainbow motion. "Take over my lease, first month is covered~" You dropped the storyteller act "So I contacted them, stuff happened and here I am now." You finished, grinning widely.

"Pshhh, you dork." Annie laughed from the other side.

Your sister sighed from the other side of the screen. “Man, I wish I could come up to visit you but… you know. Work. Lack of own vehicle. Et cetera.”

"You can always put in for time in a couple months time, plan with the mother or Chi." You shrugged. "Please do wait a bit though, I need a job first." You said worriedly.

"It's a nice place though, I got a closet and a bathroom" You sigh dreamily. "And the place came with a bed. A really nice bed too, no bedbugs or anything." You laughed. "The kitchen is a one-butt kitchen, but it's nice." You hummed.

“Oh shit! That’s pretty awesome, congrats. Galley kitchen though, kinda poopy. But then, it’s not like you’re gonna be hosting parties or anything, so it should be fine.” This is said somewhat quietly, as though to herself. “Anyway, I’m really glad you found a place and that you’re not living in Dean anymore."

“Thank GOD I'm not living in Dean." You exclaimed. "I know I always said I could live in my car if I couldn’t find a place to live. But god- I was eternally sore and tired what with Dean being full of all my worldly possessions. I really didn't have room. To sleep. I had to try to get comfy on top of the gear shift thingy.” You whined.

"Yeah, I told you that it wouldn't be a good idea..." She said hissed sympathetically.

"Yeah you were right." You frowned.

"So, how's the job search going?"

"Yeah… Still no job. I think I'm working hard on it though.” You looked over to the screen to see the title screen. When had the movie ended?

“Weeell… You could try… something that requires driving? I know you love to do that. Driving for a living seems like a good option. Like, maybe a delivery driver? Have you tried anywhere like that?”

You stared pensively at your sister on the computer, out the window, and back again before sighing and laughing. "I actually hadn't thought of that... I'll try for like.... Dominos or something." You looked back at the title screen and laughed.  "...maybe after another show of Megamind. I need that right now." You say tiredly. "Well sis, I gotta go. Gonna eat and veg so I can recover by tomorrow to work on this stuff."

“Fair.” Your sister said.

Before you could hang up she chimed up. “And remember to call you goober! Gotta remember you’re not alone.”

You smile and nod. “Gotcha. Night.”

“Night”

The call closed with a bloop and you took in a deep breath. You leaned back in your chair and exhaled with a whoosh as you took in the quaint apartment.

You land the chair and start Megamind over again. You slurped up your soggy cereal and got comfortable, you didn’t have to go anywhere for another 2 hours and you were gonna enjoy yourself.


End file.
